Stephany Writes

Categories: Life

Quarterly Budget Update | Q3 of 2022

Happy Wednesday, friends! It’s time for my quarterly budget update. Sometimes, I get very scared to publish these posts because I am the least frugal person ever and I know I am setting myself up to be judged. (A long time ago when I was writing budget posts, I had someone comment on how much I spent on toiletries and it put me off writing about my budget for years. But like… what a silly thing to get upset over!) But my budget is my budget, and I think it’s good to be honest about where our money is going and what our spending habits look like. Everyone spends money differently, and that’s okay! So, with all that said, here is my Q3 budget report!

Bills ($6,028; +$192 from Q2) – My bills category increased for the second quarter in a row, but it was mostly due to my renter’s insurance payment, which I pay yearly. It’s just under $200 for the year. And my electric bills are just sky high these days because it’s hot in Florida and I prioritize being comfortable in my home (I regularly keep my air conditioner around 71F) over saving money. Here’s how it all broke down:

  • Rent ($1,118 per month)
  • Electric (averaging $154 per month, which is an increase of $46 per month from Q2)
  • Phone bill ($109 per month)
  • Water ($48 per month)
  • Internet ($80 per month)
  • Student loan ($126 per month)
  • Car payment ($362 per month)

Food ($2,187; +$214 from Q2) – My food budget continues to frustrate me. I’m spending more than $100 per week on groceries and over $50 per week on Ubereats. I’m trying really hard not to order Ubereats as much (not that it shows!) but then I get into situations where I haven’t grocery shopped appropriately so I don’t have lunch or dinner options, so then I order something quick from Ubereats. It’s so convenient! And I’m paying for that convenience. Here’s how it broke down last quarter:

  • 57% in groceries ($419 per month)
  • 27% in Ubereats orders ($208 per month)
  • 6% in fast food ($47 per month)
  • 6% in Starbucks ($40 per month)
  • 2% in restaurants ($14 per month)

Auto ($831; +$647 from Q2) – This quarter included my biannual car insurance payment (which was also $112 more than I paid in February of this year, sigh). I spent a little less on gas ($114) and a little more on maintenance ($50, which included an oil change and tire rotation).

Savings ($750; -$200 from Q2) – Even though I put $200 less away in savings, I am still really happy that I was able to sock away a good amount of money this quarter. I set up automatic withdrawals to my savings accounts on Capital One so that the money leaves my account without me having to think about it.

Emergency ($602; +$602 from Q2) – I created a new category, “Emergency,” to place any expenses related to my evacuation. Hopefully this isn’t a category I have to use often! This category comprises the Airbnb, gas, an extra cat carrier, and extra food.

Shopping ($544; -$478 from Q2) – I continued my trend of spending less money on shopping than I did in Q1 and Q2. I put myself on a bit of a spending pause (aside from a $30 allowance every pay period) and it’s helping me get caught up on a credit card that I used way too much in Q2.

  • Tech – $210 (a new phone, a new phone case, a mic stand, and a robot vacuum*)
  • Books – $73 (8 books)
  • Clothing – $68 (two bras)
  • Beauty – $63 (a foundation brush, foundation, lipstick, headbands, foot mask, and nail polish)
  • Home – $57 (a tiny globe, a jewelry organizer, Command hooks, and some organizational containers)
  • Hobbies – $32 (two games)
  • Accessories – $20 (one necklace)
  • Office supplies – $18 (a planner and a blank notebook)

*The robot vacuum was $265 and I had saved up $225 to buy it. I only included the difference of what I hadn’t saved, not the whole price of the robot vacuum.

Health ($529; -$513 from Q2) – In Q3, I jumped down to monthly therapy rather than biweekly therapy, which saves me a cool $120 per month. I’m hoping that when I switch insurance plans next year, my therapy visits will be cheaper (I’m switching from an HMO plan to a PPO plan) and I can go more often. I really need to be going more than monthly, but it’s all I can afford right now.

Travel ($425; -$1,377 from Q2) – Q2 was a VERY expensive quarter for my travel category. Q3 was much better. I took a long weekend trip with two friends in Q3 but it was a pretty affordable vacation!

Pets ($378; +$235 from Q2) – I bought food ($44), treats ($24), toys ($88 – included their new fancy cat tower!), litter ($48), and a few supplies like a new water bowl and litter mat ($67). Eloise also had her annual check-up at the vet and got her rabies vaccination ($107).

Subscriptions ($291; -$13 from Q2) – I still feel like I’m spending way too much on my subscriptions, but as always, it’s hard to figure out what to cut out. This amounts to $97 per month.

Spa ($255; -$413 from Q2) – I canceled my massage membership this month so I only had to pay for one more month of that (I still have a handful of credits left that I’ll be using up over the next few months). I also got my hair cut!

Gifts ($217; +$106 from Q2) – Q3 includes my mom’s birthday, two friends’ birthdays, my brother’s birthday, and my older nephew’s birthday. There’s a lot going on!

Supplies/Toiletries ($208; +$47 from Q2) – I averaged around $69 per month on supplies/toiletries in Q3, and I’m happy with that!

Entertainment ($206; +$169 from Q2) – There was a lot more going on this quarter in my entertainment category. More plans with friends, more dinners out. Good job, me!

Holidays ($62; +$62 from Q2) – I bought some fun fall decor for my apartment. (Yes, I promise I will show you the decor soon!)

Charity ($39; -$11 from Q2) – Oof. I am very unhappy with myself for not donating the $50 per month to charity like I wanted to! I just got out of the habit. In 2023, I might make a goal to donate $150 per quarter to a charity of my choice rather than $50 to a different charity every month. It will probably be easier to do it all at once rather than trying to remember it on a monthly basis. Anyway, this quarter I bought some supplies from a friend’s Amazon wishlist for her classroom.

Final Thoughts

In Q2, I had 6 categories where I ended up spending more money than the previous quarter. And in Q3, I had 11 categories. Eesh! However, the overall monetary increase was less than in Q2. ($2,485 in Q3 vs $2,684 in Q2) And two of those increases (my emergency category and my biyearly car insurance payment) were out of my control expenditures, so I can’t be too upset about my spending this quarter.

I still want to really work on my food budget with the overall goal to keep it under $600 a month. Every quarter, I’m spending about $50-70 more money per quarter in my food budget. (Q1: $596 per month; Q2: $657 per month; Q3: $729 per month) I just need to be a better grocery shopper, honestly. Those Ubereats orders add up so quickly. One meal can easily cost $30 after fees and the tip for the driver.

One thing I am proud of is spending less money shopping. I have had to put myself on this self-imposed spending timeout because I got behind on credit card payments and started having to use more money from my savings than I wanted to. I had hoped I would be fully caught up by now but I’m not and that’s okay. I’ll get there!

What’s a purchase you made recently (big or small!) that brought you an inordinate amount of joy? For me, it’s the cat tower I bought for the girls. They love it so much!

Categories: Recurring Series

Currently in August

Feeling… very ready for fall. While Florida will maintain its tropical climate for the rest of the year, most likely, I am still so ready for pumpkins, football, fall drinks at Starbucks, and all of the holidays. (If only I could add cooler weather, changing leaves, and wearing scarves to that list! Sigh.) The last four months of the year are my favorite, and while I honestly can’t wrap my mind around the fact that we are closer to the end of 2022 than the beginning, I am so excited for what the next few months will bring!

Watching… the final season of Superstore! I usually don’t like the final seasons of shows (which is why I’ve put off watching the last season of this show for so long), but this one has been pretty good. I like the way they are dealing with Covid on the show—it’s not fully realistic, of course, but for a TV show, it’s alright.

Listening to… my own podcast! We officially launched our bebe into the world in early August and it’s been so fun releasing episodes every week and seeing them download into my feed! I listen to every episode multiple times because first I have to listen to write down the show notes I need to add to our description and then I just like listening to the episode when it downloads to my podcast player. It’s so fun and I feel like Bri and I have a really great rapport with one another. You can probably tell why I love her so much!

Grateful for… the people in my life (and that includes you, dear readers!) I am so grateful for friends I can talk to about my life and feel that they truly listen. I am grateful that I can come to this blog and be honest about my struggles and feel heard. I am grateful that I have friends who have brought me into their families as one of their own. In my loneliest moments, I remember all of the people in my life who love me and want to be there for me. It means the world.

Anticipating… a Labor Day getaway with Amber and Bri! We’re spending Friday-Monday at a fun resort in Kissimmee. The resort has a big pool, a lazy river, and lots of fun things to do. We’re planning on taking a sunset airboat ride and playing a round or two of mini-golf in Downtown Disney, so it should be a really fun time.

Loathing… all of this anxiety I’ve been having lately. The anxiety has been worse than usual and Lisa brought up a really great point in my coffee date post that it may be time to look at my medication. I’ve been on Lexapro since I start taking anti-anxiety medication and I’m on the highest dosage available. I’ve always taken my meds in the morning but I think I might try taking them at night to see if that helps. My anxiety is always much worse at night than in the morning/daytime, so it might be useful to have higher levels of the drug in my system at night. I’ve also been contemplating taking some sort of CBD gummy at night to see if that helps me, but I’m not sure how it would interfere with Lexapro.

Thinking about… some little updates I want to make to my apartment. I want to change up the entryway wall to add a mirror and a new shelf that I could display cute seasonal decor. I also want to finish up my picture wall in my living room (I need about 8 more pictures). I’ve been wanting to commission pet portraits of Dutch, Eloise, and Lila to hang in my room, right above my bed. And there are some changes I’d like to make to my dining area, mostly wall decor like a clock, some cute prints, and maybe some of those floating bookshelves that I’ve been eyeing for a while. But all of this costs money and I am in a spending freeze for the foreseeable future. So all I can do is continue to think about what I want to do for my home, make wish lists, and hope that I can start plugging away at these updates soon.

Needing… new sandals. I was very close to pushing the purchase button on a pair of Vionic flip-flops but the $75 price tag makes me wince. I know they will be worth it, but I am so used to paying $20 or less for flip-flops, and my last pair from Target have lasted for nearly 5 years! But now they are coming apart at the seams, and I know it’s time for me to invest in a better pair of sandals. Right now, I’m wearing my knock-off Birkenstocks that I got from Target a few years ago. I have rarely worn them since I got them because the breaking-in process was a nightmare, but I’m finding them to be really comfortable lately. I’ll probably wear these for now, and invest in two really nice pairs of sandals after my spending freeze is over.

Buying… not a whole lot this month! However, every pay period, I have a $30 allowance where I can spend money on anything I want. I’m really enjoying the process of thinking hard about what I want! Last pay period, I bought earrings, a foundation brush, nail polish, and a pedicure foot mask. This pay period, I bought a necklace, some headbands, and a new lip color. So fun!

Loving… the way Lila has to make an appearance on every Zoom work call I make (but hides under the bed when company comes to the apartment), when I wake up from a nap to see Eloise curled up next to me, voting in Florida’s primary that will hopefully lead to kicking DeSantis and Rubio out of office, a weekend away with my fur-siblings, fantasy football drafts, and podcast recordings with Bri.

What are you currently anticipating?

Categories: Recurring Series

A Friday Morning Coffee Date

It’s been a while since we’ve had a virtual coffee date, friends! Let’s sit down with a drink—I’m sipping on an iced vanilla latte myself—and chat about what’s going on in our lives.

If we were having coffee today… I’d start the conversation by gushing about my podcast for a little while! I’m having way more fun with it than I thought I would, and it’s been even better to put it out in the world and hear how you guys are enjoying it! We’re starting to plan for season 2 and have a recording date scheduled for next weekend, which I’m very much looking forward to! And we have a creative brainstorming session to figure out some bits and pieces we want to put together for season 2 on Monday. This little passion project really has my whole heart at this point!

If we were having coffee today… I might talk about mental health. My anxiety has been in an up-and-down state these days. Some days, I’m fine. Other days, I’m not. I’m trying to do what I can to keep myself mentally well: taking my meds, going for walks, seeing my therapist, hanging out with friends/family, checking in with my moods, etc. But it’s exhausting to never know how I’m going to feel on a particular day. Or to do something that I think is going to be good for my mental health, but it turns out to cause me more anxiety. And there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to talk about all of this on my blog because oh my god, can I just get it together already? I have this incessant need to “win” my anxiety disorder and when it takes me down, I feel so defeated, as if I wasn’t strong enough to battle it like I should have. I feel as if I am letting other people down when my anxiety isn’t as stable as I want it to be. (Could I be any more of an Enneagram 9? Sigh.) I’m trying to be better about just letting my anxiety disorder be what it is and not be defeated by this up-and-down trajectory of symptoms. Easier said than done.

If we were having coffee today… I’d probably groan about how difficult dating is. Do you know that I was all set up to go on a date with someone and he canceled on me the day of the date? And that the next time I set up a first date with someone different, I logged into my Hinge profile to send a message the morning of the date, only to find out he had unmatched with me? Or that I’ve had four different lengthy and deep conversations through Bumble with women I really liked… only to get ghosted after a few days? Y’all, my self-esteem is not great right now. I feel undateable. I don’t know where to go from here but, oof. This return to dating apps has not been good for me.

If we were having coffee today… I might admit that I got myself in a bit of a pickle financially. I don’t really know how it happened but in the last month alone I’ve had to withdraw money from emergency savings to save myself from overdrafting in my checking account. I’ve mentioned before that I have two separate savings accounts: one is with my bank, and I try to keep $500 in that savings account so that I can quickly transfer money to my checking account if I don’t have enough in there to cover a bill. The other savings account is through CapitalOne, and that’s where I keep my various saving categories: emergency savings, pet savings, Christmas, etc. I built up a nice little nest egg in my emergency savings that I haven’t had to touch, but I got myself into a bit of a jam at the beginning of this month. With only $80 in my bank savings, I didn’t have enough to cover a bill that would be autodrafting from my checking account, so I had to dip into my CapitalOne emergency savings. Ugh! I’ve been doing so good at not living paycheck-to-paycheck, so it’s a bit demoralizing to have this happen. So, until I get my credit card fully paid off, my bank savings back to $500, and my emergency savings back to $3,000, I am on a slight shopping ban. It’s not a full-scale shopping ban because I am going to be here for, ehh, a few months I think. I’m giving myself $30 to spend each pay period. But I’m definitely saying no to any major purchases, unnecessary Ubereats orders, and retail therapy. I know I will feel so much better when everything is back to normal, and September is a three-paycheck month, which should really help!

If we were having coffee today… and I felt really comfortable with you, I might bring up some of the things I’ve been thinking about in regards to weight loss, dieting, and body image. Here’s my truth: I want to lose weight because I am not at a healthy weight and the last time I had bloodwork done, some of the numbers were concerning. For a while, I thought about rejoining WW for the 8th, 9th, 10th, who knows, time. But then I thought about how much I hate counting points, how demoralizing it is to have to restrict when I run out of points (yes, you can eat whatever you want, but you’re still restricting yourself to fit into a certain daily points range) (and also, ugh, I do not love that feeling of needing to exercise to “earn” extra points – NO). I just don’t have it in me to do that to myself again. I do believe that WW can work for many people; I’m just not one of them. I’m considering Noom, but I also don’t really love the idea of grading my food on a scale of good, neutral, and bad, because I don’t believe food is inherently good or inherently bad. I am most definitely not going to redownload My Fitness Pal and track every calorie I eat because that just leads me down a negative path. So what’s a girl with eating issues to do? I don’t have a solution here. I might end up trying Noom, especially because they keep sending me emails about getting 6 months free with a one-year subscription. Or maybe I just need to find small ways to add healthier foods into my diet. For example, I switched my breakfast from eggs and toast to string cheese and Greek yogurt. Instead of having a ton of different chocolates and Little Debbie snacks around, I have one bag of dark chocolates. I don’t love dark chocolate and can only eat a few at a time since it’s so rich, so it gives me the chocolate fix without tempting me too much. Is it enough? I don’t know. But I know I need to get serious about what I’m putting into my body because there’s nothing I want less than heart disease and diabetes.

If we were having coffee today… I would, of course, give you an update on the cats. My little ladies are doing great! Eloise has been loving my new habit of making my bed every morning, as I find her curled up on the bed all morning long. (However, she seems to take issue with the process of me making my bed, as she swipes at me with her claws while I’m doing it. I’m not a fan!) She’s also still demanding that I share the office chair with her while I’m working. She’ll stand on the arm of the chair until I move over to let her curl up next to me. I let her do it because I love the closeness! Lila has always been my shy, skittish kitty who hides under the couch when company is over. But she is so open, snuggly, and lovey with me. She lets me snuggle her close to my side in the morning when I’m in bed and has even started curling up next to me on the couch when I’m watching TV. That’s a new habit for her, as she used to be very particular about where she would sleep and didn’t want to be too close to me. She also loves licking the inside of my elbow, which isn’t always the most pleasant feeling with her rough tongue on such sensitive skin! But I let her do it because I’m a sucker and her cute lil face is hard to resist.

Whew! This turned into a very serious coffee date. Thanks for listening to me! Tell me what you would talk to me about on this coffee date. 🙂

Categories: Recurring Series

Quarterly Budget Review | Q2 of 2022

Happy Thursday! It’s time for my quarterly budget review for the second quarter of 2022. I have to admit: I have been so, so bad about keeping up with my budget and detailing my spending. I used to do this during a Tuesday morning meeting but that meeting got removed from my schedule so now I don’t have a built-in time to record my spending and it has fallen off my radar so easily! Case in point: In late June, I opened up my budgeting spreadsheet only to find out I hadn’t recorded a single purchase made all month. Eeks! I am trying to figure out a better system for myself so I don’t get as behind as I was.

Something I want to mention is that I’ve changed this budget update a bit. I’m not simply giving you the percentages (although you can view them in the image below). I’m giving you the real, hard numbers. Since I’m only talking about my own spending, I figured I might as well. I always love knowing how much people are spending down to the dollar (and also how much people make as a salary, but that’s a topic for another day), and I know other people are nosey like that, too. 🙂

Here’s how my spending shook out from Q2:

Bills ($5,836; +$104 from Q1) – I spent a smidge more money in this category in Q2, due to a higher electric bill and some of my other monthly bills increasing by a few dollars.

  • Rent ($1,118 per month)
  • Electric (averaging $108 per month, which is an increase of $22 per month from Q1)
  • Phone bill ($112 per month)
  • Water ($48 per month, which is the exact same as Q1)
  • Internet ($80 per month)
  • Student loan ($112 per month)
  • Car payment ($367 per month)

Food ($1,973; +$184 from Q1) – I spent a lot more money on fast food and restaurants in Q2 than I did in Q1. Surprisingly, my grocery bill stayed about the same as did my Ubereats orders. Here’s how everything broke down:

  • 56% in groceries ($366 per month)
  • 26% in Ubereats orders ($168 per month)
  • 7% in fast food ($46 per month)
  • 6% in Starbucks ($37 per month)
  • 5% in restaurants ($40 per month)

Travel ($1,802; +$1,041 from Q1) – It was quite the expensive quarter for travel, mostly because my mom and I took our week-long vacation to Niagara Falls/Canada! Most of this category is comprised of what I spent on our trip, including paying for one of the hotels we stayed at, the adventures we went on, souvenirs, and the rental car. I also included my passport renewal, the cruise deposit for our November cruise, and cat-sitting fees.

Health ($1,042; +$953 from Q1) – A big jump in health-related costs from Q1 to Q2, and that’s because I’m paying $120 every time I have therapy. Right now, I’m going to therapy every other week so it’s about $250 a month. It’s not cheap (and this is through insurance; it sucks having an HMO plan, ugh). I am very grateful that I can afford this because there was a time in my life when this was not something I could have even considered. Other health costs: my monthly Peloton membership and some medicine.

Shopping ($1,022; -$517 from Q1) – Ooh, look at that! I spent so much less on shopping in Q2! Good job, me! Here’s what I spent:

  • Clothing – $359 (I had a Stitch Fix order and bought house slippers, some workout clothes, new pajamas, a jacket, leggings, and a t-shirt)
  • Beauty – $256 (skincare products, nail polish + accessories, makeup + accessories)
  • Hobbies – $121 (recording equipment for our podcast + some cover art templates from Etsy)
  • Books – $69 (five e-books, two print books, and two Book of the Month add-ons)
  • Home – $59 (a pack of washcloths, new bath towels, liner paper for the kitchen, and a new shower liner)
  • Accessories – $57 (fanny pack, a pair of earrings, sun hat, headbands, travel pill container, travel case for my hair straightener)
  • Tech – $40 (a portable phone charger)
  • Home organization – $24 (two organizing bins for my supplies closet)
  • Other – $20 (a pool float and a back scratcher)
  • Kitchen tools – $9 (a kitchen scale that does not work… fun times)
  • Office – $8 (a new calendar)

Savings ($950; +$475 from Q1) – Look that that savings number, baby! Whaddya know, setting up automatic savings will actually help me save money! I set up an automatic monthly deposit for car insurance ($100), my mattress fund ($100), my pet fund ($50), and my Christmas fund ($50). I also have a recurring deposit of $25 that goes into a “rainy day” fund every other week. Originally, I was using this to save up for a Macbook but now I think I’m going to use that money to buy a robot vacuum. I want a robot vacuum, dammit! I was also able to deposit an extra $250 into my mattress fund this quarter!

Spa ($668; +$338 from Q1) – I spent a lot more in my spa category this quarter since I had a very expensive hair appointment! Thankfully, I only need to color my hair every 6 months or so now—the blonde holds so well! I also got one pedicure this quarter and paid for my massage membership + massage tips.

Subscriptions ($304; +$14 from Q1) – A few extra subscription services this quarter: I had AppleTV for two months (just canceled it, since I only got it to watch Ted Lasso) and a new Patreon subscription. I would really like to get my subscriptions under $75 but it’s hard to figure out what to cut out. My current subscriptions are Patreon ($19), Netflix ($17), Spotify ($11), Paramount+ ($11), Second Nature for bimonthly air filters ($20 every other month), Peacock ($5), Book of the Month ($16 but not every month), Befunky photo editing ($7). I could probably drop Spotify. I very rarely listen to it. I’d also like to drop Peacock but it’s the only place to watch The Office and I watch an episode a week to keep up with the Office Ladies podcast. Blah.

Auto ($184; -$451 from Q1) – Q1 included my biyearly car insurance payment, which is why the difference is so stark! Taking out my car insurance payment, I actually spent $101 more this month, which is due to a few more trips to the gas station in Q1. (I still don’t know how I only filled up my car with gas ONCE in Q1.) I also paid for some car washes.

Supplies/Toiletries ($161; -$189 from Q1) – I was wayyy underbudget for this category in Q2! I budget $100 a month and averaged $54! Wahoo! I spent a lot more in Q1 on supplies/toiletries because I was building up my backup supplies closet, so I was buying two of everything when things had to be replaced.

Pets ($143; -$120 from Q1) – (Apologies to NGS for how low this category is.) A pretty easy quarter for the cats! I bought treats ($52), food ($40), litter ($30), toys ($10), and a new water bowl ($11).

Gifts ($101; -$104 from Q1) – I feel like there were more birthdays/celebrations in Q2 but I spent less money somehow. Who knows?!

Charity ($50; -$26 from Q1) – My goal is to donate $25 a month to a specific charity, but I fell a bit short of that goal in Q2. I donated $50 to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund at the end of June for very self-explanatory reasons.

Entertainment ($37; -$123 from Q1) – This category makes me sad. I guess I didn’t do a ton of things with friends this quarter! I need to schedule at least one fun adventure day a month with friends. This category needs more of a workout!

Final Thoughts

This felt like a very spend-y quarter for me, but it was mainly due to my trip. I’m not usually spending nearly $2,000 in my travel category in one quarter! (It should come as no surprise that I am not a frugal traveler, and do not wish to be.)

Like always, I feel really embarrassed about my food budget. I know that I shouldn’t be—a budget needs to work for my lifestyle and nobody else’s and I’m just not someone who is only going to eat out once or twice a month. That’s not my lifestyle! Still, I’d like to keep my budget in that $600 per month range. I am not too far off target (>$200) and some of that can be attributed to inflation, but I could also try to do better.

I’m proud of some of the improvements I made to my budget! I spent $500 less on shopping, added a whole lot of money to my savings, and brought down my supplies/toiletries budget by a big margin. And I’m able to afford therapy for myself now. I wish therapy was way more affordable than it is, but I’m glad that it is a resource I can utilize when my mental health is having a rough go of it.

What’s something you are so grateful you are able to afford (big or small!)?

Categories: Life

Quarterly Budget Review | Q1 of 2022

Hi, friends! It’s time for my first quarterly budget review of 2022! This year is shaping up to be a spendier year than I expected between some home purchases, travel expenses, and everything just being overall more expensive than usual with inflation. But I can still be better about sticking to my budget in certain areas and saving money.

One of the things I always get asked when I write these budget posts: does this include health insurance, retirement accounts, etc? The answer is no. I only include the money I am spending (or saving). Money that is being taken out of my paycheck for my health insurance, health savings account, and 401k are not included in this total simply because it’s money I don’t see. It’s taken out before my paycheck hits my bank account.

Here’s what my spending looked like in Q1 of 2022:

Bills (43.3%; +10% from Q1 of 2021) – Well, this category has certainly increased from 2021! My rent increased, obviously, and I added in a car payment. This category includes:

  • Rent ($1,118 per month)
  • Electric (averaging $86 per month, which was the same as last year’s Q1)
  • Phone bill ($112 per month, which is a few dollars extra from last year’s Q1)
  • Water ($48 per month, which is a few dollars less from last year’s Q1)
  • Internet ($80 per month, which hasn’t changed)
  • Student loan ($105 per month, which hasn’t changed)
  • Car payment ($361 per month)

Food (13.5%; +.9% from Q1 of 2021) – The good news is, I stayed within my budget for food this quarter (I budget $600 per month and averaged $596 per month). Here is how my food budget broke down:

  • 62% in groceries ($368 per month)
  • 28% in Ubereats orders ($168 per month)
  • 6% in fast food ($27 per month)
  • 4% in Starbucks ($25 per month)
  • 2% in restaurants ($9 per month)

Shopping (9.2%; +5.7% from Q1 of 2021) – Oof. Lots of shopping happened in Q1. Here’s the breakdown:

  • 33% on clothing (my Stitch Fix box, a new bookish tee from Bookshelf Tees, and underwear)
  • 12% on nail polish (5 bottles of nail polish and a buffing tool—this should greatly decrease in Q2)
  • 11% on office supplies (some pens, a stapler, a new planner, a stand for my laptop, a cable management tray, cord holders, and adhesive cable zip-ties—should also greatly decrease in Q2 as the majority of this was acquired when I got a new desk)
  • 11% on makeup (concealer, finishing powder, mascara, foundation, a makeup brush, and a makeup bag)
  • 9% on skincare (two bottles of cleanser and one bottle of moisturizer)
  • 9% on books (3 e-books, 3 Book of the Month add-ons, and 4 print books)
  • 8% on hobbies (a coloring book, a lap desk for said coloring, and an Etsy purchase for a secret project)
  • 3% on tech (a laptop case and a Kindle charger) Discover functional and stylish laptop cases at Vintage Leather Sydney, designed to safeguard your device with a touch of sophistication.
  • 3% on accessories (two headbands and a pair of earrings)
  • 1% on kitchen tools (a grater)

Home (6.2%; -3.9% from Q1 of 2021) – Even though I bought a new coffee table and sit/stand desk this quarter, I still spent less than Q1 since that quarter comprised a brand-new sectional. This category also includes some things I bought for the coffee table, like a tray, fake flowers, and coasters, as well as a new floor lamp and throw blanket. I included the money spent on TaskRabbit in this category, too.

Travel (5.7%; +5.7% from Q1 of 2021) – Last year, I didn’t spend any money on travel expenses in Q1. This year, I bought our flights for our trip to Niagara Falls in June and had to pay $157 to renew my passport (curses!).

Auto (4.8%; -7.2% from Q1 of 2021) – This quarter, I spent $43 on gas, $552 on car insurance, and $40 on car washes.

Savings (3.6%; -8.6% from Q1 of 2021) – I have to set up automatic deposits into my savings. Otherwise, I just think I have all of this extra money lying around that should be going into savings. I did not meet my savings goals at all this quarter, ugh.

Supplies/Toiletries (2.6%; +.9% from Q1 of 2021) – I try to stick to a budget of $100 a month for my supplies/toiletries category but I went a little overbudget in January and February as I was building up a closet of backup supplies (so I had to buy two of everything). March was on the normal side (under $100) so I should be back to normal for this category.

Spa (2.5%; -2.4% from Q1 of 2021) – This quarter, I spent $99 on pedicures, $200 on my massage membership/massage tips, and $31 on a haircut.

Subscriptions (2.2%; +.8% from Q1 of 2021) – I’m averaging about $97 per month on subscriptions, which includes lots of streaming services (Netflix, Paramount+, and Peacock), Patreon subscriptions, Spotify, Book of the Month, Befunky (photo editing), and Second Nature (bimonthly air filters).

Pets (2.1%; +.2% from Q1 of 2021) – Lila had her yearly checkup ($141) and I also bought food ($31), treats ($48), litter ($37), and some fun extras like a new water fountain ($37).

Gifts (1.5%; +1% from Q1 of 2021) – There were a few birthdays to buy presents for (the dogs, a cousin’s daughter, and my youngest nephew) as well as gifts for my friend who just had a baby.

Entertainment (1.2%; -.3% from Q1 of 2021) – I bought a premium subscription for an app (Sleep Cycle) as well as spent money on Candy Crush. And then there were some adventures such as book club, a reading date, and Galentine’s Day.

Health (.7%; -2.4% from Q1 of 2021) – In Q1 of 2021, I bought a spin bike so that made this category a lot spendier than usual. This quarter, this category included my monthly Peloton subscription ($15) along with some medication (some OTC, some prescribed).

Charity (.6%; +.1% from Q1 of 2021) – Every month, I donate $25 to an organization I care about. In January, I donated to my local humane society. In February, to a Ukranian relief organization. And in March, to the Florida Democrats fund (because god willing, we will kick DeSantis out of office this November).